Cluster Sustainable Real Estate (CSRE)

What possibilities does wooden modular construction offer for sustainable real estate projects? We explored this question on our excursion to Ulm this year. The program included a visit to the wood production facility of müllerblaustein, a tour of the company's own office building by Nething Architekten and a new residential building by NUWOG.

The visit to the production facility of müllerblaustein and the Hotel Klingenstein showed that the high degree of prefabrication of wooden modular construction allows for fast assembly times for a wide variety of building typologies with good planning. The prerequisite for a smooth project process is the involvement of specialist planners in the early project phases and an early definition of the interfaces between architecture, statics, building services and building physics.

The company's own office building by Nething Architekten impressed with a special spatial atmosphere based on a strong design concept. The aim behind this was to design a "meaningful building" that uses the respective type of construction in a location-appropriate and needs-appropriate manner. The result is a wood-hybrid building with a reinforced concrete core for access and prefabricated wood elements on the other side for office use. The concept of the building with an open room design that promotes visual connections is based on the analysis of the work processes within the company. The architecture based on this optimally supports the different tasks and processes of the employees. Another interesting aspect of this project is the early involvement of the specialist planners and the executing companies. The fast and cost-optimized execution is based on partnership agreements, on a strong basis of trust and a joint commitment to the success of the project.

The multi-storey residential building of NUWOG, the municipal housing association, which was built entirely using wooden modular construction, was not only built quickly, but was also based on a short planning time. This is because the executing company b_solution  from Austria was able to incorporate its optimized standard details into the project.

Our second excursion also shows that experiencing innovative projects directly and exchanging ideas with those involved in the project is both insightful and inspiring. We reflect this new knowledge in our CSRE network and thus achieve a fruitful exchange. We are already looking forward to the next excursion!